Santana looked at Brittany, her courage temporarily halted by Brittany's response. What on earth could Brittany need to tell her, that she hadn't already. For a second, she considered that Brittany was going to say the words that Santana wanted to say to her, but she quickly disregarded that thought. Whatever it was, Santana came to the conclusion that it couldn't be as important as what she needed to say, and knowing that her revelation would probably lead to a deep conversation that lasted the rest of the night, she decided to let Brittany go first. She sighed to regain her composure, her tone jittery and hands nervous.

"O…okay Brit, well why don't you go first?"

Of course, Brittany could see right through Santana, so she held out her hand and placed it on top of Santana's, to stop the fumbling she was doing.

"Babe…you seem nervous about something, is everything okay?"

Santana swallowed thickly, pulling herself together and forcing a smile.

"I'm fine. I'm fine Brit, honestly. Just say what you wanted to say"

Santana was trying desperately to hide the impatience inside her. She just wanted Brittany to hurry up and let it out, so she could then tell Brittany about her feelings. Brittany studied Santana's face, in an attempt to read her, her expression uncertain.

"Okay well…if you're sure" she said, and Santana nodded firmly.

Whatever Brittany said, wasn't going to make Santana change her mind about telling her. She had to say it.

"Well…a few weeks ago, I got a call from Chris, you know my old boss? He told me that Aladdin is going to be doing a worldwide tour next year, and that they were looking for a Choreographer. He essentially offered me the job on the spot but said I'd need to speak to the tour director. Anyway…I had a conversation with him this morning and he said if I want it, the job's officially mine…so I decided to accept it."

Santana's heart dropped; her face expressionless apart from the slight furrow of her brow. Of all the things she thought Brittany was going to say, this wasn't it. Since Brittany had decided to leave New York and return to Lima, she'd just taken it as a given that she would stay here. The image she had conjured up of her, Brittany and Mila being a family in Lima, was shattered before her eyes.

Sensing Santana's lack of reaction, Brittany reached out for Santana's hand again, the gentle squeeze bringing Santana out of her thoughts.

"It's only a year San, it's not forever, and we can FaceTime and call and message every single day, like we used to do when I lived in New York. You and I have this long-distance thing down to a fine art by now, and yeah I know we're gonna have different time zones to factor in this time but…we'll make it work; we always do"

Santana swallowed harshly, to rid herself of the lump in her throat, determined for her next words not to come out as a mere croak that would give her away completely. She felt guilty for her silence, and the way it was causing Brittany to go into some frantic spiel. This was an amazing opportunity for Brittany, and it was her life. It was the chance for her to go back to her dream job, without having to return to the harsh situation she was faced with in New York. She couldn't be selfish about it and expect Brittany to stay in Lima forever again. She had kept a 9-month pregnancy a secret just so that Brittany would go on and chase her dreams in the first place, who was she to stand in the way now? The reality was, is that this time, it felt even harder.

Maybe it was because of what she was about to tell Brittany, and she knew Brittany's revelation could change everything, or maybe it was because it had all come so out of the blue, but either way; it hurt.

But of course, she couldn't let that show, and she put on her trademark Santana Lopez fake smile, and pulled Brittany in for a hug. She burrowed her head into Brittany's shoulder, silently drawing strength from her, even though she was unintentionally the one causing her pain.

"Brittany…that's amazing! I'm so…so happy for you"

"Really?" Brittany pulled back, locking eyes with Santana and searching them for signs of doubt, but Santana closed them and let out a nod.

"Yeah of course, really! I'm just…in shock that's all. I didn't expect you to go again so soon, and I'm going to miss you so much, as will Mila. But this is an amazing opportunity for you. I'm really proud of you B…as I always am"

"Thanks, Sanny. Your approval always means the world, you know that. I'll miss you so much as well, and Moo, but I don't leave until December. We have a couple of months to do lots of fun things together, I already have lots in mind. And then when I do go, you could maybe even come and visit. See the world, get out of America…"

Brittany was talking with such frantic excitement that Santana had to smile through her sadness. She knew the reality would be she probably wouldn't get to go and visit Brittany, (international flights don't come cheap), and it would be the longest she'd ever gone without seeing her, but she had to be happy for her best friend. For the woman she was so desperately in love with, she'd do anything to see her smile.

"What will you do about your apartment?" Santana questioned.

"I'm just going to find somebody to take over the lease for the year, even if I don't find someone straight away, it's okay since the pay cheque for this is great, and all my accommodation with the tour is included so…it'll work out"

"Well…it sounds like you've got it all sussed babe" Santana smiled, before taking a large sip of wine to calm herself.

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand appreciatively, before mirroring the action and taking a sip of her own wine.

"Oooh…what did you want to talk to me about?"

Brittany said suddenly, when she remembered that Santana had said she had something to tell her too.

Santana inhaled deeply, as she considered her options. She had gone to all this effort to tell Brittany tonight, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep this secret much longer, but she was struggling to see how she could tell Brittany now. They were about to embark on different paths again, away from each other. She couldn't help but think this was a sign from the universe, that now wasn't the right time. Maybe another time would be right, maybe when Brittany was back from this tour and had hopefully settled back in Lima again.

She let out an internal laugh, as she realised how much this situation ran parallel to the one, she had found herself in a little over 6 years ago. When she had met Brittany for coffee to tell her about her pregnancy, but Brittany had beat her to it with her news about getting into Juilliard. Santana backed out of telling Brittany that day, and she kept that secret for months so that Brittany would still live her dream. Now here she was again, about to tell Brittany something life changing, but Brittany had beat her to it with yet another scenario that had her leaving the picture. And just like she had 6 years ago, Santana worried that telling Brittany what she had to tell her, would hold her back from her dreams. Although…Santana couldn't deny, as much as her intentions were good, hiding Mila from Brittany hadn't gone so well for them. Should she really be hiding stuff again?

Deciding she needed to put Brittany first, herself second, she pushed the lingering thought down and went against her better judgement.

"Dani proposed…" she blurted out.

Brittany spat out her wine and looked up in shock, and if Santana wasn't feeling so heartbroken right now, she probably would have laughed at how cartoon like Brittany's response was.

"And I…well I take it you said no?" said Brittany, with little attempt to hide the bitterness and jealousy in her voice.

Not for a minute when Dani had mentioned buying Brittany jewellery, did Brittany think it was going to be an engagement ring! Then Brittany's eyes widened as she recalled she was the one who mentioned jewellery in the first place. She hadn't driven her to this, had she!? The thought of Santana getting engaged to Dani was crushing her enough as it was, without the thought something she had said had led to that decision. She knew in her heart of hearts though, that her off the cuff comment about Santana's love of jewellery wasn't the reason, it was more likely the fact Dani was trying to stake her claim, given the stern warning she had given Brittany on that day they'd gone shopping.

"Of course I said no. God Brit…I'm not ready to get married yet, especially not to somebody I've only been dating for 6 months"

Brittany let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding.

"How did she take it?" Brittany asked, her tone softening through the immense amount of relief she was now feeling.

"Not so well…as you can expect. I mean, I think she tried to backtrack but…" Santana trailed off with a shrug, she didn't want to spend the rest of the night talking about Dani.

"I'm sure you'll work things out, you just need a good couple conversations to talk it through and figure out where you're both at"

That's when it occurred to Santana that Brittany thought they were still together.

"Brit we broke up…"

And for the second time that night, Brittany's face was full of cartoon like surprise, only this time she hadn't spat her wine everywhere.

"What! Why? I thought you…really liked her?" Brittany spluttered out. She couldn't bear to say the word love, so...really like would have to do.

"I did…well at least I thought I did but…I don't know Brit we're obviously just not on the same page with everything. It's for the best…now can we please stop talking about my failed relationship and just, you know…enjoy our evening together?"

Brittany swallowed tersely and let out a reassuring smile.

"Of course San. I just want to check, are you okay though?"

Santana looked away, because she couldn't bear the sympathy in Brittany's shining blue eyes. The fact that she thought she could be so cut about Dani, when the only person she was cut over was her. It was all wrong. Forcing her stare back onto Brittany she nodded convincingly.

"Babe I'm fine, honestly. Like I say, it's for the best. I'm just going to take some time to be me, work on myself, focus on Mila…you know?"

Brittany held Santana's stare, before nodding in agreement.

"Okay. Okay well I'm glad you're feeling good about it all. I don't even need to tell you that I'm here for you if you need me, because you already know" she said softly, before taking hold of Santana's wine and placing it down in the makeshift tipi "Now let's enjoy our special night together. Just me and you"

And with that, she lay back on the blankets, and encouraged Santana to lay on top of her stomach, the two of them staring up at the sky deep in thought.


They had a lovely evening together enjoying the efforts Santana had gone to, just the two of them in the peaceful darkness of the park, but they would have been lying if they said their evening was completely carefree. Both of their minds were clouded in thought, thoughts that left them both feeling a little heavy.

For Santana, it was the sadness of long-distance with Brittany, after a blissful 3 months in Lima feeling complete again. And of course, even more-so, it was the sadness of her not being able to tell Brittany the way she felt about her.

For Brittany, it was also the sadness of long-distance with Santana and Mila, after a blissful 3 months in Lima feeling complete again. But, even more-so, it was the fact the reason she had accepted the job in the first place was to take a step back, so not to hinder Santana's relationship. Now it had ended anyway, had she made a huge mistake in accepting?

Truly shaken up from her conversation with Dani, Brittany had gone home that night and cried. She'd never seen that side to her best friend's girlfriend before, and quite frankly she was embarrassed that Dani had caught her out the way she had. She thought she had been hiding her feelings for Santana well up until that point.

She didn't know what to do. She was confused, angry and ashamed, and she was terrified that Dani was going to tell Santana. Even if she didn't tell her, maybe Santana would figure it out for herself.

What scared her the most, was the thought of Dani breaking up with Santana, because of her. She couldn't physically bear the thought of indirectly causing Santana pain, because she couldn't keep her feelings under control.

And then through the confusion, came the 1 string of clarity that had kept her sane throughout all the years that she had nursed feelings for Santana.

If you love her, let her go.

Before she knew it, she was dialling Chris' number, telling him she'd had a change of heart. He was delighted, and said he'd arrange a call with Kurt as soon as possible, and this morning after speaking with Kurt; everything was confirmed. She was officially the Lead Choreographer for the worldwide tour of Aladdin, and she'd be leaving for Germany in December.

She should have been happy. She should have been excited. But she wasn't. All she felt was a heavy sadness at leaving Santana, Mila and her own family behind. She'd felt happy back here in Lima, and being around these people had really helped her heal, but she couldn't sit by forever and hope that Santana was going to turn around and tell her that she loved her the way Brittany loved her.

Maybe a year away would do her some good, help her to get over Santana. She'd never done a tour before, but she knew from her dancer friends that it was always a lot of fun and you nearly always formed close friendships with the cast and creatives that surrounded you. Seeing new places and different walks of life, wild nights out, tour bus hook ups. She'd heard it all, and she was certain it would be the perfect distraction in finally moving forward to put this unrequited love to bed.

Most importantly, she would be taking a step back and ensuring she wasn't ruining anything in Santana's relationship. Santana was happy, and that's all she could want, and it was all she was using to try and convince herself to be excited about this new chapter in her life.

Now that Dani and Santana were over anyway, Brittany couldn't help but think she had made a huge mistake, and that this all seemed pointless. Contracts were signed just an hour before Santana arrived to pick her up when she had received them via email, and she didn't even know if she could back out now, but she felt a huge sense of regret in her decision. She didn't know what to say, but she found herself turning to Santana and saying something.

"You know…I was just thinking, and…I know you said you're fine about breaking up with Dani, but regardless of how you're feeling, breaking up with someone is still hard and a big transition. I want you to know that I'll stay here with you if you need me, I'll call Chris right away and turn the job down...if you want me to…"

Brittany swallowed, the question hanging thick in the air. The thought that perpetuated both girls' minds, was one of the same.

"Tell me to stay"

"Tell her to stay"

Santana opened her mouth, and she almost felt the strength to say the words, almost. But then she blinked and let out a nervous laugh.

"No Brit, this is a great step for you. You need to go; you'd be silly not to. There's more to life than Lima, and you know that better than anyone. We'll always be here when you get back from doing amazing things."

She cursed inwardly, at the lies she had just span. She had told Brittany to go, when she really wanted to tell her to stay, all because she felt doing so would make her selfish.

And Brittany closed her eyes and sighed, as she licked her lips nervously to regain composure. It was settled then. Santana hadn't told her to stay, so she needed to go.

The air that surrounded them for the rest of the night was bitter, with both girls feeling crushed at Santana's words.


The next two months were jam packed with activities for Santana, Brittany and Mila, as Brittany had promised. As expected, Mila was initially distraught at the news Brittany was leaving again, but they managed to talk her around in the end with promises that it wouldn't be forever this time. It was a lot of transition for Mila, having being told that Dani and Santana had broken up at around the same time, but luckily, she had taken that news pretty well. Her only concern being that Santana was okay, but Aunty Brit-Brit leaving was a whole other level, and it tore Brittany up inside seeing Mila cry like that. She vowed to make the next 2 months together as special as possible for the three of them, creating long lasting memories. Both Santana and Brittany holding on to that family feeling that they both secretly enjoyed, unbeknownst to each other.

"It's only one year, then I'm back here, I promise you" were the words that both Mila and Santana clung on to. Santana just hoped that Brittany really did keep to that promise.

They'd picked a good time of year to do all the "family stuff" together, being that there were so many holidays. First up was Halloween, and Brittany had gone all out on surprising Santana and Mila with costumes. The three of them were going co-ordinated, but Brittany wouldn't let them see their outfits until the very last moment. When she finally did reveal them, Mila was overjoyed, and Santana thoroughly impressed by her efforts.

"You've truly outdone yourself this year babe!" Santana enthused, as she took Brittany into a hug, before stepping back to admire the white trouser suit that Brittany had sourced for her.

Brittany had decided to go with a music theme; knowing how much Mila had loved dressing up as her idol Taylor Swift before. She had managed to find a mini cheerleading outfit that was identical to the one Taylor wore in her latest song "Shake It Off", and the look on the little girls face when she saw the costume, told Brittany that she had definitely got it right.

In sticking with the music theme, Brittany had decided that her and Santana were going to dress as Britney and Madonna from the Me Against the Music video. Naturally, she was going to be her namesake, leaving Santana as Madonna.

It was both a blessing and a curse for Brittany, when Santana walked out in that white trouser suit. She swore she felt her eyes bulge when she first saw her, and she wondered if she actually was turning into an animated character with all of her over the top expressions of late. She admired her best friend, strutting up and down so sexily, wondering how on earth she was going to keep everything at bay tonight.

After Halloween, came Thanksgiving, and it was a real special one. Usually, the girls would spend Thanksgiving with their own families, but there had been few occasions over the years where Brittany had joined the Lopez's or Santana had been welcomed to the Pierce's. This year, Brittany had the idea to join both families together. It had been one hell of a year, and the two families got on well, so why not?

It was a great day, and Santana relished in how well Maribel and Whitney got on, and how Pierce fussed over Pablo, being that he didn't have a son of his own. It was the kind of happiness that made her wish they were a blended family all of the time. She hadn't realised until that day, how being a family extended past just herself, Brittany and Mila, but she wanted all of it. She couldn't think of better in-laws than the Pierce's.

Brittany had also thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving, but it was tinged with Sadness that in 8-days-time, she'd be leaving Lima and flying out to Berlin. She wanted to stay wrapped up in this family bubble they'd unconsciously created, forever.

Before she went, there was time for one last holiday celebration. Being that she was going to be away for Christmas, Santana, Brittany and Mila decided to do a Christmas of their own, on the day before Brittany was due to leave. They'd even done a fake Christmas Eve, with Brittany staying over the night before, the three of them wearing Christmas Pyjamas and watching Christmas movies, all cosied up together. They had told Mila that Santa wouldn't be coming this time, and this was just a practice, but there would be some presents still, just from Aunty Brit-Brit rather than Santa.

The day was filled with fun, laughter, games, music and of course a Christmas dinner, and the three of them had the best time, not moving out of their Christmas PJs all day, except for the bit where Brittany donned a Mrs Claus costume to hand Santana and Mila their presents, much to Mila's delight and Santana's laughter.

"We should give this a name, it's like Christmas but better" Santana laughed, as they settled on the sofa, full up from all of the food they'd devoured.

"I know!" Brittany said, her eyes bright "We should call it Snixxmas" she laughed, pretty impressed with her quick wit, referring to Santana's alter ego, which actually rarely came out now she was a mother.

Santana laughed along and nodded her head in agreement.

"Well If I do say so myself, I think Snixxmas might even be better than Christmas"

"Oh really…why's that?" Brittany smirked, and Santana felt her heart jump at Brittany's flirty tone. Her own tone, was of course completely soft, the way it always seemed to be whenever she was speaking to Brittany.

"Because I get to spend it all with just my two favourite girls of course…just the three of us"

The two of them shared an intimate look; Mila distracted by her new children's keyboard that Brittany had gifted her for Snixxmas. It was a charged moment, one filled with both love and sadness, as they realised Brittany would be leaving soon.

She'd be leaving for the airport tomorrow, but on this occasion, Santana had decided not to go with her. She still remembered the airport goodbye when Brittany went to New York like it was yesterday, and how painful it was. The way they had promised they would see each other in two weeks, but it had ended up being almost 7 months, which then turned to almost 6 years of long-distance friendship, despite their plans to always live together.

Brittany had promised she'd be back in a year, but what if she wasn't? Santana didn't think she could go with her to the airport, because if she did, there was a strong chance she wouldn't let her get on that plane. Brittany felt the exact same way, and when Santana had suggested the airport goodbye might be a little too hard, she'd strongly agreed with her. She also felt, if Santana held her hand all the way there like she did before she left for New York, she'd never let her go. She'd never make it on the plane.

So, tonight was going to be their goodbye. The first goodbye was to Mila, who had fallen asleep after the excitement of the day, something Brittany was glad about because it made the goodbye a little easier. She glanced at Santana, who nodded understandingly, knowing exactly what Brittany was silently communicating. And on Santana's approval, Brittany carried Mila up to bed, tucking her in tight and trying her best not to wake her. She kept it simple, she told her that she loved her and that she'd miss her, and that she'd always be at the other end of the phone. And she told her what she had been saying to reassure all three of them from the start, it was just a year. The tears misted her eyes as she heard Mila mutter out "love you" mid sleep, but she tore herself away before the tears really began to fall. She would miss that little girl so much.

Then she spent more time with Santana, just the two of them, neither of them discussing the inevitable in an attempt to keep the evening light. It had been a recurring theme through the past couple of months really. They had barely talked about Brittany leaving, both of them almost with the same philosophy of "if you don't talk about it, it's not real".

There had been a few occasions, where they'd let their masks slip though, projecting their insecurities onto each other, rather than directly saying what needed to be said.

"Are you sure you're okay with me leaving? I just worry that you're saying you're fine about the break-up, put you're putting on a front, and honestly San, there's still time for me to change my mind."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay out there? I know touring is going to be an amazing experience for you, but I just worry that with everything you've been through this year, you should be around your friends and family, here in Lima."

The worries were genuine from both girls, and they weren't saying it solely to provoke a reaction, but there was a definite pattern of both of them saying things to try and get the other to stop all this from happening. Santana wanted Brittany to stay. Brittany wanted Santana to tell her to stay. But both girls were too selfless to say what they really wanted to say, so they carried on, enjoying their time together before D-Day arrived.

And now D-Day had arrived, and suddenly they were sat in a thick silence, the two of them aware it was probably time to say goodbye now. Brittany had stayed for as long as possible, and Santana's eyes were starting to droop despite her insistence on keeping awake. The way they were acting, you would think that Brittany was being sent off to war, not a round the world tour in the job of her dreams.

The goodbye actually contrasted their original goodbye, in the way that there were much less words involved. They hugged tearfully, and whispered how much they loved each other with their promises to FaceTime every day, a promise they knew they'd easily stick to. Santana told Brittany how proud of her she was, and Brittany told Santana to give Mila a big kiss from her in the morning. Other than that, they kept the words fairly simple, choosing to say everything with that long-lasting tight hug instead. Because this time, words were too much to hear and to say. They were only going to make things harder, and really, they didn't need to be said. They knew how much they were going to miss each-other; it was a given.

Just as the sadness was becoming completely overwhelming, Brittany took her cue to leave, wiping the tears from her blue eyes. And with one last "Love you" and goodbye, she was gone, and Santana cried even harder.

But the tears that came the next day, were even worse. With Mila spending time with Abuela and Abuelo, Santana having deliberately sent her there because she didn't want to have to put Mila through a Saturday off school where all she could see was her mother moping around, there was nothing to distract her from her thoughts.

She was texting Brittany, and drinking wine in a bid to numb her thoughts (it wasn't working), as Brittany gave her minute by minute updates of her arrival to the airport, she'd be pulling up any time now.

And even though Brittany had told her last night "It's not goodbye, it's just see you soon", Santana couldn't help but feel something about last night felt so...final.

Feeling encouraged by the wine, and even more encouraged by the strength of her love for Brittany, it was taking everything in her power not to call a cab right now, and dash to the airport to stop Brittany getting on the plane, proclaiming her love for her in front of everyone in the terminal, like one of those cliché movies.

As she pulled out her cell, quickly strolling down to C in her contacts, she hovered over "Cab" in her contact lists.

But then she rolled her eyes at her own ridiculousness, before focusing her gaze on the contact underneath. Someone she hadn't even properly thought about in months, someone she'd actively ignored, but who right now, could provide a very welcome distraction. Without a second thought, she dialled the number.

After a few rings, the familiar voice answered the phone.

"Santana?" the voice answered, sounding incredibly confused.

"Hi Dani, what are you up to tonight?" she purred seductively, the wine filling her with confidence, but not getting rid of any of the sadness she felt in her heart, as she thought about the love of her life boarding a plane to the other side of the world.

It was the furthest they'd ever been away from each other, and Santana could only hope that the invisible string that she was so sure held them together, could stretch 4334 miles and continue to tie them together, before bringing Brittany back to her.


Authors Note: Sorry to upset you guys :( If it makes it any better, I don't enjoy writing chapters like this as much as the fluffy love filled ones where everything is going great, and as a writer I'm as desperate for them to get to end game still as you are haha! I just know what I need to do to get them there.

I do want to say thank you to the Guest who left the review praising the timeline of the story. This meant a lot because I know a few people have given up on this due to how incredibly slow burn it is, so to hear someone say they're actually enjoying that process and will be sticking with, felt good.

The thing is with this story, the whole plot is centred around all the obstacles they have in getting them together but always finding their way back to each other due to that "invisible string". So to get them together any quicker, would take away the point of the story.

But that does bring me to my next question, Flmagic you asked if we'd be getting 33 chapters of Brittana as a true couple since we've taken 33 to get here (even more now :P), and in answer to that yes there will be a lot of chapters as Brittana as a couple. I personally don't like it in stories when it takes so long for them to get together, then we only get 1/2 of them together properly, so I certainly won't be doing that. I also have a sequel planned so yes- when we get there, I promise there will be a lot of Brittana.

Thank you so much again to everyone still reading, and to all those who go out of their way to review, you know who you are!